German site BILD interviewed Rachel Franklin about The Sims 4!
Big thanks to ZoraGraves for translating this article and Honeywell for providing it!
BILD: In “The Sims 3” I had my worst game experience. The social worker took the firstborn son away after just a few hours of playing. I’ve never seen him again.
Rachel: I really don’t know how this could have happened. You probably didn’t take care of him enough. That’s why there’s social workers.
BILD: The new Sims are said to be much more emotional now. For example, they can literally laugh themselves to death or get depressed. Are they able to commit suicide as well?
Rachel: There’s a clear boundary. We do want the players to test out the game to the maximum and to experience unexpected and crazy situations. But we don’t want it to be morbid. “The Sims” should be fun and not dive into the dark sides of life.
BILD: “The Sims 4” will be rated 18+ in Russia because of the option of building homosexual relationships. What do you say about that?
Racel: The Sims is a game where the players have the free choice of everything. We want them to experiment – also in regards to different relationships. When a local government sees a problem with that it’s their decision.
BILD: Electronic Arts presented “The Sims 4” last year at Gamescom in Germany. Is there a special bond between the German players and the Sims?
Rachel: We love our German fans. They’re very important for us. I know that the German Sims players try out the creative possibilities of the game more than those from other parts of the world. For example they build extremely detailed houses and get excited about even the smallest pieces of decoration for their buildings.
BILD: What’s the most important new feature of The Sims 4?
Rachel: It’s the Sims themselves. They get a real personality now that is reflected throughout and influences the whole game and that unlocks entirely new gaming options. And when two of those very different Sims meet, the possibilities even add up. Personally, for me the simple building of stylish estates is very important. When I create something in the game, I’d much rather go with new Sims. (Yes, that is contradictory, but it also was like that in the original text…)
BILD: The Sims will have a better “memory” now. What does that mean?
Rachel: You could experience wonderful moments with your Sims earlier as well, but there was no connection to the Sims’ full biography. A Sim might be good with some skills and not as good with other stuff because of their personality. They get frustrated in certain situations because of this condition. This might have one impact or another but basically this attitude persists throughout their life. That’s something that’s never been like this before.
BILD: What is going to change about the in game world?
Rachel: It’s all about the neighbourhoods again. In the game you focus on the direct environment of your Sims and the neighbours with their quirks. That’s almost like a reality show.
BILD: Will the players be able to purchase additional content inside the game? Or will there be the usual expansion packs?
Rachel: I can’t answer this at this moment. Right now we concentrate on finishing the base game itself.
BILD: EA emphasises over and over again that “The Sims 4” is going to be an offline game.
Rachel: Yes!
BILD: What did you think then “SimCity” got bashed for its always-online concept?
Rachel: “SimCity” is an entirely different, also very wonderful game. The online mode for us only implements the option to share your own self-made rooms, objects and Sims. By the way, this is very popular. In “The Sims 3” there were more than 500 million downloads. But basically it’s very relevant for our players to play offline and as single players.
